Well she has a tad bit of the "Holy shit that is a rather large shadow my parents are casting that I oh so happen to be standing in" syndrome. You know how it can go "Oh me and you mom were good friends back in the day and I'm going to go on and on about how epic she is and how epic your daddy is and you MIGHT be as good some day."

And you know how teens can be about wanting to establish their own self as a unique entity. But in this case she doesn't have the attitude of the mage and those mages who WOULD teach her see she's going into it for the wrong reasons so they suggest she seek out a calling that's more suited to her.

And I really haven't decided yet if she'll take on a class or be a tag along to those who are heroes. I'm just trying not to make her another annoying whiny angsty teen which may take me the rest of SDS to figure out. But at least I have time and you can use her in this story if needed

The fact that she exists is really all I needed. Like I said, it gives Hollus a point of sympathy.

My father left me to watch over the shop while he and my mother went to speak to Lord Barov. They were determined to find out the truth behind Winterstorm's story. I spent the afternoon cleaning fish and taking care of the regular customers that came in looking for something fresh to take home for dinner. It wasn't a very lucrative business, but it was apparently enough to keep a modest roof over our heads. Dad was obviously a much better fisherman that I would ever be, as his catch this morning was three times what I'd brought in. It was just as well; we'd sold all but enough for our own dinner.

My parents returned after about four hours. Mom had been crying, and said nothing when she walked in; she just headed straight back towards the house. Dad looked grim, and walked over to grab his fishing gear. "Come fish the north shore with me. We need to talk."

I grabbed a pole and a basket and followed him out of the store. We walked side by side in silence through the village until we reached the rocky shore. We baited our lines and put them in the water, and I waited for him to speak.

"Thoradin is a warmongering fool." He began. "It wasn't enough for him to conquer all the tribes of men, now he's set his sights on the Trolls."

"Why?" It was a good question, whether I was 15 or 50.

"Greed. It's always greed with men like that. Greedy for wealth. Greedy for power. Greedy for glory. He's built an empire the likes that man has never seen, and he wants more. And these damned Elves are giving him the means to do it."

"What are they giving him?"

"Magic, I suppose. Men don't know magic like they do. Sure, there's a few like that Winterstorm who know a few tricks, but they say it's nothing like what those Elves can manage."

"So what he said was true. They're going to teach men?"

"It's true. King Thoradin sent an entire company of men with Winterstorm. He's here to take conscripts to Strom. He's building an army."

"What does that mean?"

"It means nearly every able-bodied young man in Caer Darrow is marching out of here tomorrow morning. They'll be given three gold pieces for their trouble, which might be just enough to get their families through the first winter, and then they'll eventually march off to fight Trolls. Hell, half of 'em won't ever come back." He spat in disgust.

Even though I was just a shade in my younger self's subconscious, I could feel the fear welling up inside. I was a kid. I was about to be taken from my family and sent off to war. "So that means I'm leaving tomorrow?" My voice quavered a bit.

"That's what it means. Every family sends one able-bodied man. I told them I'd go, but that fool Winterstorm won't have it. Says you're more valuable in Quel'thalas learning from the Elves. I damn near punched him again over it."

"OK," was all I could say.

He reeled in a catfish and tossed it in the basket, but before he cast his line out again, he turned and looked me in the eye. "Son, there's nothing we can do. The king is going to take the men he wants for his army one way or another. Barov tells me all the Lords are sending their sons with Winterstorm because they'll have a chance to see and learn things no man has ever seen, but more importantly, they'll be away from the front lines of this war. Your mother and I don't want you to leave, but this is the safest option."

"How long am I going to be gone for?"

He shrugged. "There's no telling. I asked them the same question. The Elves say it could take years to train you. But the good news is, you'd probably end up right back here when you're done. Caer Darrow is too close to Troll country to leave unguarded. They're going to build a garrison here in the next several weeks and have it manned by a company of soldiers. They'll eventually want to have a mage here as well, and that would probably be your assignment."

"Probably?"

"It's war, son. I don't think there's any way to be sure about anything. We can just hope for the best. The good news is, you can stay away from most of the bloodshed. If you do well with the Elves, you'll be worth your weight in gold to the king."

"I suppose." I could feel the shock and denial. I wasn't ready for any of this.

Dad tried to cheer me up. "Look, you like to read, right? Those Elves have more books than we have rocks."

I smiled a bit. My parents only owned one book, an almanac that my mother had taught me to read from. "Yeah... I guess."

I don't think that Caer Darrow was human-territory just before the Troll-wars and the Humans hated the Trolls already, their tribes were constantly fighting before the unification. The areas around Stromgarde (Arathi) were the place were humanity started to flourish.

I don't think that Caer Darrow was human-territory just before the Troll-wars and the Humans hated the Trolls already, their tribes were constantly fighting before the unification. The areas around Stromgarde (Arathi) were the place were humanity started to flourish.

But I think it's going to be a very interesting story!

You might wanna get caught up on the rest of it. I've got a .pdf file of the entire story to date. It's the size of a small novel.

And I did my research. There were humans on Caer Darrow around the time of the Arathi Empire and the age of King Thoradin. There's not a lot written on the subject - which is why my perspective on the troll wars will be potentially incorrect (there are, simply put, few facts for me to check), but I intend to do the best with what's available.

You might wanna get caught up on the rest of it. I've got a .pdf file of the entire story to date. It's the size of a small novel.

And I did my research. There were humans on Caer Darrow around the time of the Arathi Empire and the age of King Thoradin. There's not a lot written on the subject - which is why my perspective on the troll wars will be potentially incorrect (there are, simply put, few facts for me to check), but I intend to do the best with what's available.